San Francisco Giants lose again to Miami Marlins

San Francisco Giants' Hunter Pence dives back to first on a pickoff attempt by Miami Marlins' Ricky Nolasco in the second inning at the AT&T Park in San Francisco on Friday, June 21, 2013. (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants have lost nine straight home games against the lowly Miami Marlins, and at the moment that's the least of their worries.

Angel Pagan had another MRI before Friday's 6-3 loss at AT&T Park, and the Giants must decide this weekend if their leadoff hitter will have surgery. Adding insult to injury, the tired bullpen melted down late in Friday's game, and adding another injury to the growing list, Andres Torres bruised his knee and might miss several days.

"It can be really frustrating," Tim Lincecum said at the end of a day that included far more negatives than positives.

Lincecum was one of the lone bright spots, throwing seven strong innings and continuing a recent resurgence. Lincecum gave up three earned runs and has a 2.92 ERA in four June starts, but his throwback performance wasn't able to put the Giants back in the win column.

Lincecum gave up a solo homer to Logan Morrison in the second inning, but the Giants bounced right back, tying the game in the bottom of the inning and taking the lead when Marco Scutaro's double to right brought Gregor Blanco racing home in the third.

With Buster Posey on first and two down in the fifth inning, Hunter Pence hit a flare to center that Marcell Ozuna couldn't glove. Posey scored to give the Giants a 3-1 lead, but Lincecum gave the runs back in the sixth.

Advertisement

Morrison drove in a run with a two-out triple and scored on Ozuna's infield single.

"That's the most frustrating part, is giving back that lead," Lincecum said. "Things just don't fall where you're hoping they would."

The Giants twice wasted opportunities to take back the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Torres led off with a shot off the right-field wall and was thrown out at third when he tried to stretch the hit into a triple. He limped off the field and was removed from the game, but X-rays were negative.

"I hit my knee really hard, right on the kneecap," he said. "I'll come in (Saturday) and see how it feels. I hope I feel good to go. I was just trying to make something happen there, I was trying to hustle.

"I should have stayed (at second) with no outs."

Lincecum did make it safely to third later in the inning when he picked up the second triple of his career and first extra-base hit since 2009. But the Giants, who went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position, couldn't bring home Lincecum.

Lincecum cruised in the seventh but was replaced before the eighth. The Marlins scored three runs off the Giants bullpen with a stretch of two-out singles.

The bullpen has given up late runs in all three losses on this homestand.

"They've been used a lot," manager Bruce Bochy said. "A couple of them are tired."

Lincecum said that's partly his fault. The Giants starters struggled mightily in April and May, putting increased pressure on the bullpen.

"It's easy to go to them when the starters are struggling," Lincecum said. "I've been a culprit to that."

Several feet away, Torres gingerly got dressed, eager to return to a lineup that was without Pagan, third baseman Pablo Sandoval (strained foot) and shortstop Brandon Crawford (sprained fingers).

"You try to keep moving forward," Lincecum said of the rough stretch. "You hope that guys that are taking their place will do the same thing."

Pagan aggravated his hamstring injury Thursday night while making his first rehab appearance with the San Jose Giants. He pulled up while running out a grounder to second and had to be carted off the field. Bochy said the staff would discuss the possibility of surgery in the coming days.

"We'll figure out what's the best option," he said.

A day after getting hit by a line drive, right-hander Chad Gaudin was wearing a specialized sleeve on his right arm to minimize swelling but said he was optimistic that he would make his next scheduled start.

Crawford played catch with a trainer to test his sprained index and middle fingers and might start Saturday.

"It feels a lot better, but it's not quite to where I wanted to be," Crawford said. "It still doesn't feel good when I'm trying to throw. There's not as much behind it."

Sandoval was 1 for 3 with a solo homer in his first rehab appearance for the San Jose Giants.

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw out the first pitch before Friday's game and hit 87 mph on the radar gun.